Engineers Without Borders

Our next meeting will be next Thursday, January 19th, at 5:30 in the Rockrimmon Library community room. We’re in the final stages of pulling together the formal project proposal that we must submit to the EWB Technical Advisory Committee in February in order to get approval for travel in May. Several members are working on various aspects of this proposal which we will review and integrate on Thursday.
 
We also need to firm up travel dates within the group and with our Bolivian NGO, Engineers In Action. In addition we need to talk some more about the other tasks to be accomplished while in Suncallo – primarily data gathering for the installation of tap stands at homes which currently do not have access to drinking water.
 
Thanks to the grant from CH2M Hill, and the hoped for USAID grants, we believe we have enough money for this trip but fundraising is always an issue. We have a potential new member who may be able to help us in this area. In addition, we’ve been approached by the Graphics Arts department at PPCC and they would like to develop some print media for us as a class project. Also, both EWB and EIA have changed their cost structures for supporting trips in 2012 and so we’ll need to develop a travel budget that incorporates these changes.
 
We need the support of everyone to make this trip a success so bring your energy and ideas. And for those of us who will not be going on this particular trip, there are still many ways to contribute to helping the people of Suncallo get clean drinking water.

GOOD NEWS – This week the EWB-COS chapter was notified that we again qualified for a $5000 grant from the CH2M Hill corporation. This company has been very generous in sponsoring EWB projects like ours which are aimed at improving water availability in the developing world. Their support has been a primary enabler for the work we’ve been able to do so far in Suncallo, Bolivia. Recently Celeste and John were invited to share an overview of the June 2011 implementation trip with the CH2M Hill Colorado Springs staff during a special luncheon meeting. The group was very interested in learning more about the progress we’ve made in upgrading the water system in Suncallo and seeing what their previous grant allowed us to accomplish. They have become a real partner in helping to improve the lives of the people (and especially the children) of Suncallo.

Recently the Colorado Springs EWB chapter was invited to tell our story in an unusual venue, Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub and Restaurant! The local Science on Tap organization has been hosting informal monthly discussions on technical topics of general interest and they approached us because we use science and engineering in a way that touches people very directly. The format is 15-20 minutes of presentation (without PowerPoint), a 10 minute break to order a beer or dinner, and then questions and answers. Mark your calendars for November 14th and come join the discussion! Link to PDF Flyer